Wire-forming machine



Dec. 11, 1951 H. M. YOUNG 2,578,216

WIRE-FORMING MACHINE Filed March 17, 1947 7 Sheets-Sheet l Q INVENTORHARRY M. YOUNG ATTORNEY Dec. 11, 1951 H. M. YOUNG 2,578,215

WIREFORMING MACHINE Filed March 1'7, 1947 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 57 Q 6e'INVENTOR HARRY M. YOUNG I BY 6/ ATTORNEY Dec. 11, 19.51 H. M. YOUNG 6WIRE-FORMING MACHINE I Filed March 17, 1917 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORHARRY M. YOUNG 44 ATTQRNEY Dec. 11, 1951 H. M. YOUNG 2,578,216

. v WIRE-FORMING MACHINE Filed March 17 1947 1 7 SheetsSheet 4 (1 T I l?INVENTOR HARRY M. YOUNG ATTORNEY Dec. 11, 1951 H. M. YOUNG 2,578,216

WIRE-FORMING MACHINE Filed March 17, 1947 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 x INVENTORFIG. 20 HARRY M. YOUNG BY v ATTORNEY Dec. 11, 1951 H. M. YOUNG 2,573,216

7 WIRE-FORMING MACHINE Filed March 17, 1947 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 vii, i a

HARRY M. YOUNG ATTORNEY Dec. 11, 1951 H. M. YOUNG 2,578,216

' WIRE-FORMING MACHINE Filed Margh 17, 194"! V 'T Sheets-Sheet '7 FIG.24 6 48 12: K I .120 J INVENTOR may a 12 HARRY M, YOUNG FIG. 26 /3/ 3 7BY ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 11, 1951 UNITED STATES E ATENT OFFICE WIRE-FOR MIN G MACHINE Harry M. Young, Webster Groves, Mo., assignor toWestern Wire Products Company, St. Louis, Mo, a corporation of MissouriApplication March 17, 1347, Serial No. 735,207

7 Claims. 1

This invention relates in general to forming machines and, moreparticularly, to wire-forming machines.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide awire-forming machine which is reliable, efficient, and economical inoperating, being high-speed, and requiring a minimum of manual labor.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide awire-iorining machine which is rugged and relatively simple inconstruction.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide awire-forming machine which is readily adaptable for producing a varietyof formed wire articles such as pipe hangers, for example.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention resides in thenovel features of form, construction, arrangement, and combination ofparts presently described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings (seven sheets) Figure 1 is a frontelevational view of a wire forming machine constructed. accordance withand embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the wire formed into a pipe hanger bythe wire-forming machine of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a side elevational View of said wireforming machine;

Figure 4 is a rear elevational view of said wireiorming machine;

Figures 5, 6, and '7 are fragmentary transverse sectional views takenalong lines 5-5, 6-4;, and l--1, respectively of Figure 1;

Figure 8 is an enlarged. view of the feed dog forming a part of thepresent invention;

Figure 9 is an enlarged top perspective view of the adjustable eccentricforming a part of the present invention;

Figures 19, 11, and 12 are fragmentary transverse sectional views takenalong lines ifi-Jfi, H-! I, and 42-42, respectively, of Figure 1;

Figure 13 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken along linei3--ls of Figure 12;

Figure i l is a fragmentary perspective view of the lower anvil forminga part of the present invention;

Figure 15 is an enlarged fragmentary front View of the forming assemblyforming a part of the present invention;

Figures 16, '17, 18, and 19 are fragmentary transverse sectional viewstaken along lines Iii-l6, l'l--il, 13-43 and ii lfi, respectively, ofFigure 15;

Figures 20 and 21 are fragmentary front plan views of the formingassembly in successive stages of the wire-forming operation;

Figure 22 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 22*22 ofFigure 21;

Figure 23 is an end View, partly broken away and in section, of awire-forming machine incorporating a wire-pulling mechanism;

Figure 24 is a transverse sectional View taken along line 2 l-2 3 ofFigure 23;

Figure 25 is an enlarged View of a wire-pulling mechanism; and

Figure 26 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 22$ of Figure25.

Referring now in more detail, and by reference characters to thedrawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, ,Adesignates a wireorming machine comprising front and rear v cal plates3, B, secured together in spaced relation at their four corners byhorizontal side rails C, and being supported on two rectangular floorstandards D.

an arm F, integral with, and in the same plane as, the plate B, extendslaterally therefrom and supports at its outer end, by means of a supportframe i, a conventional double roll wire-straightening mechanismgenerally designated G, comprising a vertical set 2 and a horizontal set3, of rollers 4%, each roller being provided with a circumferentialgroove 5 and being mounted on a bearing sleeve 6 which is, in turn,mounted on a stud i threaded at its lower end, as at 8, in a slide block9 shiftably held in a frame it between the ends of opposed adjustingscrews H, 12.

Mounted in spaced relation on the outwardly presented face l3 of the armF are two vertical members it, [4, having horizontally alignedfeed-apertures l5, l5, and supporting vertically spaced horizontal sliderods it, ll. Shiftably mounted upon, and extending vertically between,the slide rods it, H, is a feed carriage l8 provided in its forward faceit with a relatively wide horizontal recess or channel 28, the upperhorizontal side wall of which is undercut, as at 2!, for retentivelyaccommodating a hardened guide block 22 having, along its under face, adownwardly opening slide groove 23 aligned with the feed apertures l5,l5. Bolted on the face of the feeder carriage i8, adjacent the guideblock 22, are two spaced guide clamps 2% having horizontal fingers 25extending rearwardly beneath the guide block 22 and beingcomplementarily grooved for loosely holding the wire a within the slidegroove 23. Pivotally mounted upon the front vertical wall of the channel26, by means of the pintle bolt 2t, is a feed dog 21 provided at itslower end with a projecting handle 28, and being connected to one end ofa tension spring 29 which is, in turn, fastened at its other end to thefeed carriage [8. At its upper end, the feed dog 27 is provided with agroove 2i" for engagement with the underside of the wire a as it lies inthe slide groove 23. Also pivoted on the arm F is a spring biasedhold-back dog 30 adapted for engagement with the wire a as it passesover a stationary guide block 3!. The feed dog 21 and hold-back dog itare spring biased in such a manner that when the feed carriage [8 movesforwardly (i. e. to the left, reference being had to Figure 1), the

dog 2? will tighten and grip the wire a so that it will be pulledforwardly with the carriage i8, and the dog 39 will correspondinglyallow the wire a to slide freely. Contrariwise, when the carriage 18moves rearwardly, the dog 27 will release the wire a so that thecarriage 68 can slide freely with respect thereto during such returnmovement, while the dog 99 will tend to grip the wire a and hold itstationary.

Formed integrally with the feed carriage IS, and extending outwardlytherefrom, is a cylindrical boss 32 projecting slidably through anelongated slot 33, formed in the lower end of an upwardly extending link34 which is, in turn, pivoted at its upper end on a boss 35 formed uponan arm 36 extending upwardly and rearwardly from the plate B. The boss32 is held within the slot 33 by means of a headed bolt 3? and washer39, as best seen in Figure 6.

Rockably secured to the link 34, approximately midway between its ends,is a pitman or connecting rod 33 pivotally secured at its forward end bya crank pin 66 on an outer plate Ill, provided on its under face withways /2, slidably engaging a slide tongue 43 of an inner plate M rigidlypinned upon the end of a crank shaft 45 for rotation therewith. Formedpreferably integrally with, and extending laterally from the end of, theplate M is a projecting arm 49 for rotatively supporting one end of anadjustment screw 41 which is operatively threaded at its other end in aboss 48 formed integrally with the inner plate M for permittingadjustment of the distances between the center of the crank pin All andthe crank shaft 95, whereby the amount of throw of the link 34 may beset and the stroke of the feed carriage l8 adjusted, as necessary forvarious desired lengths of tie-irons. The outer plate 4| is furtherprovided with an elongated slot 58 for receiving a locking bolt 49 whichis, in turn, threaded into the inner plate 44 for tightly securing theouter and inner plates M, M, in any desired position of adjustment.

- Keyed upon the crank shaft 45, between the inner plate 44 and theplate B, is an eccentric 50, and operatively mounted at its upper endthereon is an adjustable length pitman connected at its lower end bymeans of a pin 52 to a boss 53, extending outwardly from a plate 5'3,the latter being slidably retained, in flat surface abutment against theplate B, in vertical ways 55, 55', provided by the bars 59, 56. Upon itsunder face, the plate 54 is provided with an upwardly extendingrectangular recess 5'! for receiving a projecting shear block 58 held inplace by a set screw 59. Mounted on the plate B, beneath the bars 5%,59', is a base block 69, provided in its upper face with a stationaryshear block El and a spring-pressed plunger 62. Upon its rearwardlypresented side face the block 69 is provided with an apertured guideplate 63 for directing the wire a between the shear blocks 58, iii. Thematching faces of the shear blocks 58, SI, are complementary in designand are respectively provided with two diagonal ridges 64, 64',intersecting centrally, as at B5, and are cut away angularly therefromin the provision of V-shaped forming-recesses, so that the cut off endsof the wire a will be sharp and pointed, as shown at p in Figure 2. Agroove 6! in the forward face of shear block Bl opens into a groove 68in the forward face of the mounting stationary block 69 and provides apathway for the rearwardly sheared end of the wire a to drop downwardlyclear of the block 59, as will be presently more fully pointed out. Theplunger 92 forces the wire a upwardly to prevent any adherence to thestationary shear block 6|.

Bolted upon the face of plate B, forwardly of the shearing plate ways55, 55', is a way-forming member 69 integrally provided, along itslateral margins, with inwardly projecting vertical ways 39', 99, forslidably supporting a forming slide if! provided, adjacent its lowerend, with a circular boss H. Extending between, and fixed in astationary position on the ways 69, 69, in overlying relation to theslide 79, is a forming plate "i2 provided with a central slot 13extending downwardly from the upper margin thereof for clearing a pintle14 formed integrally with, and projecting outwardly from, the slide 'ilthrough the slot 13, and being attached, by means of a shouldered stud14', to the lower end of an adjustable link '15 which is, in turn,eccentrically journaled, at its upper end, by means of a crank pin 19 tocam 11 keyed upon the projecting end of an auxiliary shaft 18.

Axially aligned with the slot 73 and extending upwardly from the lowermargin of the forming slide '19 is a forming slot or recess 19 foraccommodating the boss ll when moving upwardly upon upward movement ofthe slide 10, thereby carrying the central portion of the shearedsection of wire a upwardly into the forming slot 59, and the walls ofthe slot 19 cause the wire a to bend into the shape of an inverted U,substantially as shown in Figure 20 the boss or member ii is thus shapedfor a complementarily fitted disposition within the slot or recess 19.

Swingably mounted along the lower transverse margin of the slide '19 isa female die 89 provided with a forming groove 8| and biased downwardlyand rearwardly by a spring 3|, which extends through a clearance slot inthe plate B and is secured at its end to the plate B. Upward movement ofthe slide 1!] causes the back face of the die 89 to strike a roller 83mounted on a cross bar as suitably secured to the back face of plate B,whereby the die 89 is pivoted approximately 90 bringing the concaveforming groove 8i into co-operating position with the complementary face85 of a male forming die 86 mounted on the lower end of a lever 81, forforming the ends of a pipe-hanger h, as shown at e in Figure 22.

The lever 8T is pivotally mounted between projecting ears 88 fixed uponthe outer face of the forming plate 12 and, at its upper end, is biasedtoward the plate 12 by a tension spring 89 for inwardly and outwardlyrocking action. Fixed in the upper end of the lever 8! is a camblock 90positioned for co-operation with a cam roller 9| mounted on one end of alink 92, the other end of which is connected to a lever 93, pivoted at94 and attached to one end of a spring 95, secured at its other end tothe plate B. At its upper end, the lever 93 is provided with acam-following roller 99 for engagement with the periphery of cam 11.

Shiftably mounted in, and projecting horizontally outwardly from, theouter face of the slide 19, in upwardly spaced relation to the circularboss H is a stripper tongue 91 urged resiliently outwardly by a smallcompression spring 98, and being provided on its outer extremity with anupwardly and inwardly inclined face. The forming plate 12 is provided,upon its inner face, centrally of the upwardly curving margin of thezontally outward movement by means of flat depending fingers I60 boltedor otherwise suitably secured upon the face of the forming plate I2. Thetongue 91 is consequently pressed in wardly as it passes behind the wirea and upon continued upward movement of the slide I9 engages the cammingrecess 99 by which it is again pressed inwardly so as to slide upwardlyagainst the inward face of the forming plate I2 as the wire a is carriedupwardly by the circular boss II and bent into U-shaped configuration byco-operation with the forming slot 19.

' As this initial wire-forming operation is completed, and the slide Iiireaches the upward limits of its travel, the high spot on the cam 11will engage the cam following roller 96 and kick the upper end of lever93 forwardly, to move the lower end thereof and the link 92 associatedtherewith inwardly, thus transmitting movement through the cam block 99to the lever 81 and thereby shifting the male forming die 86 inwardly,thereby forming the lower portion of the pipe hanger, as at 1).

Upon completion of the bottom-forming operation, the male forming die 86will move outwardly again, and the slide I0 will start to movedownwardly to its original position. Upon downward movement of the slideIll, the stripper tongue 91 will move outwardly into the camming groove99 of the forming plate 12 and strip the finished pipe hanger out of theforming slot I9. As the slide I0 reaches the lower limit of itsmovement, the pipe hanger will fall freely downwardly and come to reston the inclined delivery rod IlJI which is suitably secured upon theplate B in downwardly spaced relation to the lowermost position of theforming slide Ill and is inclined at such an angle that the pipe hangerwill fall downwardly by gravity and drop into a conventional catch bin(not shown).

The wire-forming machine A is driven from a conventional electric motorI02 which is mounted in the usual manner by means of lag bolts directlyupon the floor between the standards D, and is provided with a sheaveI03 which is, in turn, connected by a belt I94 to a large driving pulley165 which is keyed upon the rearwardly projecting end of a shaft Ills,the latter being suitably journalled in, and extending horizontallybetween, the plates B, B. Keyed, or otherwise suitably mounted, upon theshaft I85 for rotation therewith is a small spur gear ie'l, meshing witha larger spur gear H18 which is, in turn, pinned upon the crank shaft 45and is also in meshing engagement with a spur gear I09 pinned upon theauxiliary shaft I8.

In making pipe hangers for large pipes, a substantial amount of wiremust necessarily be fed into the machine. To facilitate smoothoperation, an auxiliary feeding mechanism for pulling the wire throughmay, if desired, be provided, comprising a lever H9 pivotally mounted ona bus III extending from the inner face of plate B. and being attached,at its lower end, to a spring member I I2. At its upper end, the leverIHI is provided with a cam following roller US for co-operativeengagement with an eccentric cam II-4' keyed upon the auxiliary shaftI8. Arms H5, H6, extending from the lever III], are

joined at their ends to contact a T-shaped member I I1 extending throughan aperture H9 in the plate B for supporting a plate I I9. The memberIll and the plate II9 are normally biased to the right (reference beingmade to Figure 26), by means of a spring member I29. Attached to theface of the plate H9 is a spring I2I secured, at its other end, to a pinI22 mounted on a camfaced jaw I23 contoured for rocking movement inco-operation with the sloping face I24 of a stationary plate 525, asbest seen in Figures 25 and 26. A plate I213 mounted flatwise upon plateH9 by its rearward margin I27 provides a stopabutment for wire being fedthrough the machine.

In operation, the interaction of the cam roller I I3 and the eccentriccam I I4 imparts a forward and return movement to the lever H0, wherebythe T-shaped member I I! is caused to slide correspondingly to and frowithin the aperture H8. On the forward movement, the wire is pulled,being gripped between the plate I i9 and the jaw I23. Travellingoppositely over the face I24 on the return movement, the jaw I23 pivotsto release its contact with the wire, which is then being pulledrearwardly and upwardly by the action of the slide 10.

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the form,construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of thewire-forming machine may be made and substituted for those herein shownand described without departing from the nature and principle of myinvention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. In machine for forming a piece of wire into a predetermined shape, astationary plate having a recess of predetermined length, areciprocating slide having a member shaped for complementarily fitteddisposition within said recess and being adapted to engage and force asection of wire into said recess for bending it into conformity to theshape thereof, said recess being of such depth that when the wiresection is pushed thereinto the wire section will project outwardlytherefrom at its ends, a female die member hingedly mounted on the lowermargin of the slide, and means for swinging the female die member intooperative position as the slide cess and being adapted to engage andforce a section of wire into said recess for bending it in o conformi yto the sh p thereof, said recess bein o u h p h that when th Wire s cion is pushed thereinto the wire section will project ard y the e rom atits nds. a ema die m e h nged y moun ed on the ower margin of he. slide.means or wing h ma e ie member intp operative position as the slidemoves p ardly. an a ma e e m mber ope ati r mounted on e s a on ry p atefor swineab e movement toward and away from, and in timed relation tothe movement of, the slide for ferming the lower ends of the piece ofvwire in the female die member.

3. a machine for forming apiece of wire into a predetermined shape, astationary plate having a recess of predetermined length, areciprocating slide having a member shaped for complementarily fitteddisposition within said recess and being adapted to engage and force asection of wire into said recess for bending it into conformity to theshape thereof, said recess being of such depth that when the wiresection is pushed thereinto the wire section will project outwardlytherefrom at its ends, a female die member hingedly mounted on the lowermargin of the slide, means for swinging the female die member intooperative position as the slide moves upwardly, a driving shaft, a camwheel mounted on the driving shaft, a link eccentrically journaled atone end to the face of the cam and at the other end to the slide forreciprocating the slide as the shaft rotates, said cam being provided onits periphery with a high-spot, a male die memher, and a lever drivinglyconnected at one end to the male die member and being provided at itsother end with a cam follower for engagement with the periphery of thecam, the cam high-spot being so located with respect to the point ofconnection of the link to the cam as to cause operative movement of themale die member as the slide reaches one end of its path ofreciprocating movement.

4. In a machine for forming a piece of wire into a predetermined shape,a stationary plate having a recess of predetermined length, areciprocating slide having a member shaped for complementarily fitteddisposition within said recess and being adapted to engage and force acut-off section of wire into said recess for bending it into conformityto the shape thereof, said recess being of such depth that when the wiresection is pushed thereinto the wire section will project outwardlytherefrom at its ends, a spring presses tongue mounted in the slide andbeing beveled for passing freely behind the wire and the margins of therecess on the up-stroke of the slide and being further adapted upon thedown-stroke of the slide to engage and strip the formed wire out of therecess, a female die member hingedly mounted on the lower margin of theslide means for swinging the female die member outwardly into operativeposition as the slide moves upwardly, a male die member operativelymounted on the stationary plate adapted for co-operation.

with the female die member to bend the projected ends of the wiresection as the slide reaches the upper end of its stroke.

5. In a machine for forming a piece of wire into a predetermined shape,a stationary plate having arecess of predetermined length, areciprocating slide having a circular boss adapted for fitteddisposition within said recess, a female die member hingedly mounted onthe lower margin of the slide and normally disposed rearwardly thereof,cam means adapted for engaging said female die member upon upwardmovement of the slide to rock said member into operative position, alever operatively mounted for rocking movement on the stationary plate,a male die member mounted on and carried by the lever for engaging saidfemale die member for forming the ends of a piece of wire therein, andmeans for reciprocating said slide.

- In a machine for morming a piece of wire into a predetermined shape, astationary plate having a recess of predetermined length, areciprocating slide having a member shaped for cornplementarily fitteddisposition within said recess for forming the central portion of apiece of wire,

a female die member hingedly mounted on the lower margin of the slide,spring means for normally biasing said female die member in a positionrearwardly of said slide, a roller member mounted upon said machine andadapted for engaging said die member upon upward movement of the slidefor causing said female die member to be swung into operative position,a

cam, means associated with said cam for reciprocating said slide, a maledie member operatively mounted on the stationary plate for swingablemovement toward and away from, and in timed relation to the movement of,the slide, a lever drivingly connected at one end to the male diemember, and a cam follower provided on the other end of said link andadapted for engage-- ment with the periphery of the cam whereby saidmale die member will be engaged with the female die member for formingthe ends of a piece of wire when the slide reaches one end of its pathof reciprocating movement.

7. In a machine for forming a piece of wire into a predetermined shape,a stationary plate having a recess of predetermined length, areciprccating slide having a forming member shapedfor complemen'tarilyfitted disposition within said recess for forming the central portion ofa piece of wire, and a spring pressed stripper tongue mounted in theslide, the forward end of said stripper tongue being beveled, saidstationary plate also being provided with a camming groove for receivingthe beveled end of said stripper tongue upon upward movement of theslide whereby said tongue is pressed inwardly, said camming groove beingaxially aligned with said recess whereby upon downward movement of theslide the stripper tongue will be forced outwardly into said recess forremoving any formed wire piece which remains in said recess aftercomple-' tion of the forming operation.

HARRY M. YOUNG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 145,250 Spencer Dec. 2, 1873159,314 Foster Feb. 2, 1875 172,428 Haddock Jan. 18, 1876 237,397Lewthwaite "Feb. 8, 1881 303,289 Jacobs Aug. 12, 1884 319,296 Dodge June2, 1885 343,700 Cortright June 15, 1886 636,272 Middlebrook Nov. 7, 1899718,961 Yeatman Jan.20, 1903 904,563 Rau Nov. 24, 1908 1,106,484 YoungAug. 17, 1912 1,309,660 Smith July 15, 1919 1,342,712 Carllus June 8,1920 1,432,770 Mackenzie Oct. 24, 1922 1,562,973 Kuester Nov. 24, 19251,666,380 Heinle Apr. 17, 1928 1,823,090 Craigo Sept. 15, 1931 1,882,243Dailey Oct. 11, 1932 2,048,459 Mofiett July 21, 1936 2,106,945 FrancisFeb. 1, 1938 2,190,722 Martin Feb. 20, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS NumberCountry Date 2,988 Great Britain Dec. 2, 1857

